Chapter 29
Brandon
I was shocked as I boarded my private jet. What in the world had caused this fucking outburst? I flew across multiple states, from Georgia all the way to fucking California, to make sure she was all right. I wanted to hold her in my arms and reassure her I was going nowhere. I wanted to whisper in her ear that there was no one else, that no one could possibly amount to what Melissa had so quickly become in my life.
And instead, I fucking got thrown out.
It was the first time since we had reconnected that she hadn’t let me help her. She felt some insane responsibility to preserve my career like I hadn’t suddenly canceled on events before or some shit like that. I was Brandon Black, a world-renowned psychiatrist. I canceled shit all the time in favor of my patients or Max. She was no different.
“Yeah, I’m headed back,” I said.
“Good. It’s not like you to run out on this type of stuff, so I didn’t cancel anything,” my agent said.
“Thanks.”
“Is Max all right?” she asked.
“Yeah, he’ll be good. What’s on my schedule?” I asked.
“Well, your Sunday was free, so no harm done there. Monday, you have a morning television interview and then a radio interview right after down the road. We’ll get you a quick lunch before we hit the bookstore for your signing, and it’ll be an early evening for you.”
“Good. I could use one of those,” I said, sighing.
“Let me know when you land. I’ll get you some dinner sent over.”
“Thanks.”
I tossed and turned all Sunday night as thoughts of Melissa invaded my head. I’d figured flying back and seeing her after hearing her voice mail would show her how much I loved her, how much she meant to me, and how hard I was willing to work to make this happen between the two of us. Despite the issues she was working through, everything felt right when I was with her, like our families were supposed to be connected in some way.
But I couldn’t keep doing this song and dance with her anymore. There had to come a point where the past stayed in the past and she trusted the man I was now.
She had to stop treating me as if I was still the little boy she’d fallen in love with before.
I went through the motions of Monday and did the interviews I had scheduled. I could understand her fear of the media, but it was a stupid excuse. The media never delved into my personal life anyway. Hell, I never even made it in the press unless I’d written a book or installed another facet of the business in another state. It was a stupid excuse, and one she was willing to use in order to keep up this wall between us. It was a wall I could only drive a wrecking ball through so many times before the chain itself broke.
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know who to talk with about it or whether it required any action. I didn’t know what it was going to take to show Melissa I was willing to give up anything to make this work, but one thing was for certain. I needed to talk to her.
So, when I got back to my hotel and settled in for the evening after all the interviews and book signings, I called her up on my phone.
“Brandon?” she asked breathlessly.
“Hey there, Mel,” I said.
“Are-are you all right? I mean, how was your flight?”
“It was fine. I’m fine. Long day. Listen, we need to talk.”
Her end of the phone fell silent as I drew in a deep breath.
“Brandon, I’m really sorry,” she said.
“I know you are, and I do understand why you panicked. But honestly? It was a stupid reason to panic.”
“I know. Ava showed me that,” she said.
“But I should’ve been able to show you that just fine. Mel, this is the first time since you’ve walked back into my life that you didn’t let me help you. You threw up this huge wall, and for the first time, it wasn’t due to any of your past traumas. It was due to your current insecurities.”
And still silence.
“I don’t know how many times I can tell you I love you before you understand it. I don’t know how many states I have to fly over to get to you to show you how hard I’m willing to work to make this thing happen between us. I fucked up, and I get that. But that’s not the man I am today. I worked fucking hard to make sure that wasn’t the man I ended up becoming.”
“I know,” she said, whispering.
“As your doctor, I wanted to help you. As the man who loves you, I wanted to help you. Everything inside me was screaming to help you, and you wouldn’t let me.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t force you to take help you don’t want. It’s the first rule you learn in my line of work.”
“Brandon, please—”
“I love you, Mel.”
I heard her swallow deeply as my hand clenched my cell. There were so many things I wanted to say to her. So many things I wanted to dote on. I wanted to tell her that her smile brightened my day. That her touch ignited a fire in my gut. That her skin writhing against mine in bed fueled beautifully disgusting thoughts that ravaged my mind when I was not with her.
“Do you hear me when I tell you that?” I asked.
“I do,” she croaked.
“I love the way your eyes sparkle when you laugh. I love the way your body arches into mine whenever I wrap my lips around your nipple. I love the way your hand slips soundly into mine, and I adore the way you lean into me when I wrap my arms around you. I love the way your hair now tumbles down your back and how you moan every time I pull it in bed. I love the way your lips feel against my chest, and I sure as hell love the way you shake when my head is between your thighs.”
I heard her sigh, and for a split second, a grin crossed my face.
“I love the way my words can make you cave,” I said.
“I love all those things, but right now it’s all one-sided.”
“Brandon…”
“You have to take this time to think, Mel. You have to come to a decision. I know you’re hurting, and I know you’re sifting through a lot, but the only choice you have to make is to let me in and to be vulnerable one last time. Because I can promise you that if you are and if you commit yourself to opening up just one more time, it’ll be the last time you ever have to.”
“How can you be so sure?” she asked breathlessly.
“Call it a hunch,” I said.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “Be decisive. Think about the decision you’re going to make. Delve into how you truly feel. For once, Mel, be self-aware. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep coming to you whenever you need me only to be shoved out a door when you get weak. Because if I can’t trust you to be weak around me, how in the hell am I ever going to be able to be weak around you?”
My question silenced her, bringing her pause as she considered all I’d thrown her way.
“You want an answer when you get back,” she said.
“I do. And if you don’t want me, all you have to do is say so. We’ll still continue our sessions, and we’ll still work to get you on a good path. If you do, then I’ll still put in the work. I’ll still be right here, but I’ll be sitting across from you in an office instead of in your bed.”
I heard her sniffle, and it broke my heart. I couldn’t imagine the corner she felt backed into. The way her mind was probably running away with her again. Everything inside me wanted to help her and to pick her apart and try to put the pieces back together in the right fashion.
But this wasn’t only me we were talking about. Max had taken a liking to both her and Sarah. This was for him, too.
“Try to get some rest, all right?” I asked.
“I’ll try,” she said.
“Good. I’ll call to check up on you tomorrow if you’d like.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
“All right. I’ll talk with you then. Good night, Melissa.”
“Good night, Brandon.”
I got off the phone and tossed it onto the floor. My heart rate was buzzing, and my blood pressure had skyrocketed. I slid down into bed as every muscle in my body tensed, and immediately my cock began to rise. I had stress I needed to relieve as my body melted into the soft sheets of the hotel bed, and there was only one person on my mind as my hand wrapped around my dick.
Melissa.
I pumped my cock slowly as I thought of her soft, wet skin in that bathtub. The way the bubbles popped against her skin as she’d laid her head back on my shoulder. I thought about how her back bucked into me, stroking my cock as her hips rolled down into my fingers. Her clit had pulsed so good for me as I rubbed it, pulling from her delicious fluids that swirled around in the water. I clenched my thick cock tightly, picturing her plump lips wrapping around its head as I slowly thrust into my hand.
I thought about her taking me all the way back to her throat as her warm, beautiful eyes fluttered up to meet mine.
“That’s it, Melissa. Take all of that cock.”
I felt her tongue swirling around my cock as my thumb soaked itself in my precome. I dug my heels into the mattress as phantom pains of Melissa’s fingernails raked down the backs of my thighs. I thought about how beautifully she rode my cock, my hands planted on her hips as she bucked selfishly in my lap. Fuck, her pussy was so warm and tight, and I groaned as I stroked my cock faster and faster.
“No one feels like you, Melissa. No one.”
My dick grew bigger and bigger, pulsing against my palm as I thought about how her pussy tasted. How her thighs clenched around my cheeks and how her juices dripped all over my skin. I thought about how silken her fluids were and how easily they slipped down my throat.
I thought about shoving my cock all the way down hers and pouring my hot come right into her stomach.
“Yes. Shit. Fuck yes, Mel. Suck that cock. Take it back. Guzzle me down.”
The bed was rocking, and my hips were lifting with each thrust as my hand stroked my soaking wet cock. I thought about pinning Melissa to the wall and fucking her until she screamed for mercy. I thought about taking her from behind and how her ass jiggled perfectly as I slapped each cheek until they were blazing red. I thought about taking her virgin asshole, feeling how tight her puckered hole would be as her ass was filled with my come.
I wrenched my eyes shut and saw her beautiful smile, my name dripping from her lips as I thrust my hips into the air one last time.
“Mel. Mel. Yes, holy fuck, Mel. You feel so good. You’re so sexy. Fuck!”
I drenched the sheets that covered my body as stream after stream of thick come spurted from the head of my cock. My balls tucked tightly against my body as my heels dug into the mattress. My back collapsed on the bed as my entire body shook, reeling from my orgasm that left me heaving and gasping for air.
There was no woman’s memory that could ever pull from me the orgasms that Melissa’s memory could… and I prayed that she would choose me in the end.